From Iconoclasm to the splendour of the Macedonian and Comnene dynasties

Reliquary cross

This characteristic example of a reliquary cross is cast in two pieces and is well preserved. The obverse bears an engraved representation of Saint George depicted frontally with arms raised in a gesture of prayer. His figure is stylized and sketchy. Reliquary crosses such as this one were worn as pendants and contained relics - a piece of the Holy Cross, or a piece of wood or cloth, or even ash that was sanctified through contact with other holy relics. They were mass-produced during the tenth to twelfth centuries AD in workshops throughout the empire.